2016 Election
Mar 3rd 2016 | 5:53 am
#5131
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 14,683
From: Bay Area, CA
Re: 2016 Election
If I'm not mistaken, pre-ACA your insurer could have decided that you were just too expensive to insure with your conditions and treatments and kicked you to the curb. Many had problems getting insurance and treatment in the first place due to 'pre-existing conditions'.
If he had been privately insured, then YES, he could be summarily dropped if he exceeded some (unstated, arbitrary) limit.
Mar 3rd 2016 | 5:54 am
#5132
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 14,683
From: Bay Area, CA
Mar 3rd 2016 | 6:02 am
#5133
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 302
Re: 2016 Election
It wasn't Medicare spending but bailout spending that got them riled up. Medicare is something they earned in their minds. It was help for mortgage payers from Obama when it officially started.
Mar 3rd 2016 | 6:03 am
#5134
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 14,683
From: Bay Area, CA
Re: 2016 Election
Car insurance is required for everyone (read, 'individual mandate') and there are minimal coverages mandated. Insurance companies have to cover you. The biggest variable in car insurance is when you want higher coverages; similar to the gold/silver/bronze. It would be fantastic if the insurance companies could find an equivalent to the concept of 'higher rates for risky cars'. That is - if you smoke, your rates go up, or if you guzzle 50 sodas a day your rates go up, but - that's another challenge for another day.
Mar 3rd 2016 | 6:09 am
#5135
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 3,433
From: WA state
Re: 2016 Election
My insurance company has a different rate for smokers than it does for non-smokers. You just have to sign a bit of paper that says you are a non-smoker. Not quite at the stage where they weigh you to determine your rate yet though!
Mar 3rd 2016 | 6:11 am
#5137
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 302
Re: 2016 Election
Go stand in the peroxide/rubbing alcohol/band-aid section at Walmart and I guarantee you will find a suffering adult trying to find a DIY cure for a dental abscess.
Mar 3rd 2016 | 6:21 am
#5138
Banned
Joined: Feb 2016
Posts: 348
From: Chicago, IL
Re: 2016 Election
Dental insurance is separate from general health insurance. Even in the UK, where there's universal healthcare, finding good dental cover is hit and miss and most Brits don't have a regular dentist
Last edited by themadpooper; Mar 3rd 2016 at 6:37 am.
Mar 3rd 2016 | 6:30 am
#5139
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 302
Re: 2016 Election
Never seen that there myself but will make a note to look next time I'm in there
Dental insurance is separate from general health insurance. Even in the UK, where there's universal healthcare, finding good dental cover is hit and miss and most Brits don't have a regularly dentist
Dental insurance is separate from general health insurance. Even in the UK, where there's universal healthcare, finding good dental cover is hit and miss and most Brits don't have a regularly dentist
You are right indigent dental care is another issue, I guess that was a bad example. I was just trying to show a lot of people suffer here for the lack of basic treatment.
Mar 3rd 2016 | 6:33 am
#5140
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 27,078
From: Nova Scotia Canada
Re: 2016 Election
Actually some states have laws requiring they go with the vote, though not sure that would prevent some defections. Other States have rule encouraging loyalty to the popular vote...but no enforcement. And then there are those with ni requirement. The electoral college was established due to a lack of total trust in the voting class to not elect someone with perhaps dictatorial ideas or contrary to the protections of the Constitution. In such a case the popular vote could be overruled. You know...someone like Trump. I do not think it will become an issue though. Wish it would.
Last edited by dakota44; Mar 3rd 2016 at 6:38 am.
Mar 3rd 2016 | 6:35 am
#5141
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 14,683
From: Bay Area, CA
Re: 2016 Election
Is this through your employer? I believe Group Plans can do that. I don't believe ACA individual plans can. Group Plans (employer plans) can offer a variety of incentives for taking better care of yourself. I THINK the mechanism is that your employer is offering a subsidy on your premium based on your 'behavior'. In other words, the premiums the company pays the insurance company are blended across the employee base, but the amount you the employee have to contribute towards that premium is being discounted based on your participation in various initiatives. Just my understanding.
Last edited by Steerpike; Mar 3rd 2016 at 6:39 am.
Mar 3rd 2016 | 7:06 am
#5142
Thread Starter
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 8,106
From: Phoenix, AZ
Re: 2016 Election
https://www.healthcare.gov/how-plans-set-your-premiums/
Mar 3rd 2016 | 7:10 am
#5143
Account Closed
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 0
Re: 2016 Election
Does the federal government even do referendums?
I see Obamacare as an improvement but under the old system I was not insurable unless a group employer plan which only occured about 50% of the time, so the new way is certainly an improvement.
I see Obamacare as an improvement but under the old system I was not insurable unless a group employer plan which only occured about 50% of the time, so the new way is certainly an improvement.
Yeah, maxed out the deductible but $200 is nothing. Premiums aren't too bad, work covers most of it. The mrs and I are registered at one of the big hospitals in Chicago so that comes with a premium but there's no waiting around for blood tests, scans etc., which are done on the spot
My point is, Obamacare had made health insurance vastly more expensive for those of us who already had it, that's undeniable. The argument that it's justified so the less well off can get on the insurance ladder is fine, and as someone who grew on a council estate myself, I know all about being poor but Obamacare went about it the wrong way
You don't ram something as controversial as that down people's throats and then arrogantly laugh off criticism of it as self serving Republicans playing politics. Had Obamacare been subjected to a referendum, there is not a hope in hell it would've gotten voted for. I don't know anyone who likes it and I have a vast bunch of in laws who live all over America and mates from many walks of life
My point is, Obamacare had made health insurance vastly more expensive for those of us who already had it, that's undeniable. The argument that it's justified so the less well off can get on the insurance ladder is fine, and as someone who grew on a council estate myself, I know all about being poor but Obamacare went about it the wrong way
You don't ram something as controversial as that down people's throats and then arrogantly laugh off criticism of it as self serving Republicans playing politics. Had Obamacare been subjected to a referendum, there is not a hope in hell it would've gotten voted for. I don't know anyone who likes it and I have a vast bunch of in laws who live all over America and mates from many walks of life
Mar 3rd 2016 | 8:07 am
#5144
BE Practitioner (Level 2)
Joined: Aug 2014
Posts: 1,403
From: San Diego, CA
Re: 2016 Election
No, because he is on a 'group plan' provided by his employer. Such plans benefit from a requirement not to exclude anyone (for usage, for pre-existing conditions, etc). This benefit has been there for a long time, and the ACA, in part, tried to extend the basic 'strengths' of group plans to individual plans.
If he had been privately insured, then YES, he could be summarily dropped if he exceeded some (unstated, arbitrary) limit.
If he had been privately insured, then YES, he could be summarily dropped if he exceeded some (unstated, arbitrary) limit.
Mar 3rd 2016 | 8:25 am
#5145
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 14,683
From: Bay Area, CA
Re: 2016 Election
Yes, under the ACA the only things that can affect your premium are age and smoking.
https://www.healthcare.gov/how-plans-set-your-premiums/
https://www.healthcare.gov/how-plans-set-your-premiums/
According to that site:
- Age: Premiums can be up to 3 times higher for older people than for younger ones.
- Location: Where you live has a big effect on your premiums. Differences in competition, state and local rules, and cost of living account for this.
- Tobacco use: Insurers can charge tobacco users up to 50% more than those who don’t use tobacco.
- Individual vs. family enrollment: Insurers can charge more for a plan that also covers a spouse and/or dependents.
- Plan category: There are five plan categories – Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and catastrophic. The categories are based on how you and the plan share costs. Bronze plans usually have lower monthly premiums and higher out-of-pocket costs when you get care. Platinum plans usually have the highest premiums and lowest out-of-pocket costs.
